


rainstorm.

by pyroallerdyce



Series: (not at all spooky) skywalkers series [october writing challenge 2020] [31]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bookstores, Established Relationship, F/M, Friendship, Kissing, Marriage Proposal, One Shot Collection, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Rain, Relationship(s), Short One Shot, Tumblr Prompt, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000, october writing challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:35:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27305671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyroallerdyce/pseuds/pyroallerdyce
Summary: On Sunday morning, Ben woke up to find a note on Rey’s pillow instead of her sleeping next to him, and he smiled as he read it.  The note said that there was a problem at the bookstore and she needed to attend to it.  She’d be at the store until it was fixed, but she didn’t know how long that was going to be.  The store would be closed as they tried to work it out, so if he wanted to he could come by and hang out as she worked on it with Finn and Rose.Ben closed the note and took a deep breath.  Step one, complete.He took a quick shower and then made himself some breakfast, eating it quickly as he watched it rain like he needed it to.  Everything was falling into place.  This was the day that this was supposed to have happened, no matter how much his family thought he should have done it months ago.This was the day when he was going to ask Rey to marry him.or:  it's finally raining, so Ben has a plan to execute.(these will make little sense unless you read the whole series.)
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: (not at all spooky) skywalkers series [october writing challenge 2020] [31]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947904
Comments: 7
Kudos: 31
Collections: October Writing Challenge - 2020





	rainstorm.

**Author's Note:**

> attempt to break my writer's block day 31. I'm not sure I'd say this challenge broke my writer's block completely, but it's a hell of a lot less than it was before, that's for sure.
> 
> HAPPY HALLOWEEN! the conclusion is here and I hope it is satisfactory. this one was more inspired by the prompt than actually using the prompt. go with it.
> 
> and as always, if you like what you read and you want to see more, please let me know via a comment or kudos or bookmark so that I know I'm not writing into a void. enjoy!
> 
> october 31: "We're in the middle of a thunderstorm and you wanna stop and feel the rain?"

**2020**

On Sunday morning, Ben woke up to find a note on Rey’s pillow instead of her sleeping next to him, and he smiled as he read it. The note said that there was a problem at the bookstore and she needed to attend to it. She’d be at the store until it was fixed, but she didn’t know how long that was going to be. The store would be closed as they tried to work it out, so if he wanted to he could come by and hang out as she worked on it with Finn and Rose.

Ben closed the note and took a deep breath. Step one, complete.

He took a quick shower and then made himself some breakfast, eating it quickly as he watched it rain like he needed it to. Everything was falling into place. This was the day that this was supposed to have happened, no matter how much his family thought he should have done it months ago.

This was the day when he was going to ask Rey to marry him.

When he was done with his breakfast, he checked the time. Almost ten. Perfect. Grabbing his wallet, phone, and keys, he sent Finn a quick text to let him know that he was on his way. Finn would take care of making sure that Rey was engrossed in work when he got there. Rose would subtly monitor the door. 

When he got there after his walk without an umbrella, Ben would be just as soaked as he was the night of their first date. Rose would notice him, ask Finn for his help in the back with something, and then once they sent him the signal that it was okay, Ben would knock on the door to get Rey’s attention, just like that night. 

Only this time, he suspected he’d be immediately let in.

He’d never been more nervous about executing a plan. 

This wasn’t a task list to get through every day at work that he could alter or redo if necessary. He needed to get this absolutely right on the first try. This was asking the woman he loved to spend the rest of her life with him. There were no do-overs available to him.

Though, Rey had gotten so used to him saying and doing stupid shit that she found it loveable now. Ben still didn’t understand how that was possible.

He grabbed the ring and shoved it into the pocket of his suit coat. Maybe wearing the same thing he’d been wearing that night was a little much, but he had a theme going that he thought she would appreciate, so he was going all out. 

He left the house and headed towards the bookstore, smiling at people he passed who looked at him like he was crazy for not having an umbrella in the rain. It wasn’t pouring, but the rain was coming down at a steady pace, and Ben could feel himself getting wetter by the second. It was perfect. He stopped a block away from the bookstore to shove his nerves down, made sure the ring was still in his pocket, and then walked the other block to the store. 

He waited until Rose spotted him, then saw her say something and disappear into the back with Finn. A moment later, Ben got the notification that Rey was on her own, so he took a deep breath, thought about the fact that this was the biggest moment of his life, and then knocked on the door.

And stood there.

And stood there.

And stood there. 

Where was Rey?

He took a deep breath and tried again, waiting as patiently as he could when he felt like he was vibrating out of sheer anxiety. But he still stood there, Rey nowhere to be found.

Well, fuck.

Ben pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Finn asking him where the hell Rey was, and a moment later, he heard Rose call out asking if that knocking was at the door. When Rey called back that it was, Rose asked her to go answer it, so Ben took a deep breath and knocked again.

This time, Rey walked around the bookshelves, her eyes lighting up when she saw him. Then she noticed he was in a suit, and she instantly became confused. She walked over to the door and quickly unlocked it, ushering Ben inside. “Honey, you’re soaking wet,” she said as she turned to relock the door. “And you’re in a suit. What’s going on?”

“This,” Ben said, taking a deep breath as she turned around. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring, and Rey gasped.

“Ben,” she got out, and Ben started talking.

“Two and a half years ago, I came to this bookstore, soaked from rain, to apologize to you for avoiding this place the way I had been. I’d been a complete fucking moron because of a sandwich, and there was absolutely no way that you should have forgiven me for that,” he said, his hand shaking as he held the ring out to her. “But you did, and then you agreed to have dinner with me, and even though Phasma was annoying as shit that night once we got to the restaurant, you agreed to another date after that.”

Ben took a deep breath as Rey’s eyes filled with tears. “Ben, honey,” she started but Ben continued.

“I have done more stupid shit that others have ended relationships for than I care to admit ever since. But you always forgive me, and somehow you love me, and I just...I need you. I need to spend the rest of my life with you. But I will also completely and totally understand if you don’t want that. Who would want to spend their life with me anyway?”

“Ask to marry you, Ben,” Rey interrupted. “Just ask.”

Ben blinked a few times before clearing his throat. “Rey, would you be interested in marrying me?”

Rey grinned at him. “Yes, I would.”

Ben stared at her as she walked towards him, and then she was in his arms and giving him the kind of kiss that he’d never had from anyone but her, and he felt more at peace than he ever had in his life. Rey was going to marry him.

He’d always thought he’d end up alone.

He reached for her hand when she pulled back and carefully slid the ring onto her finger. Rey’s eyes widened when she saw the ring up close, and she immediately looked at him. “How much did this cost you?”

“You know what, I don’t have to answer that,” Ben said, smiling. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me. I don’t have much of anything,” Rey started, but Ben shook his head. 

“Nope. There’s no more of this mine and yours stuff. There’s only going to be ours.”

Rey nodded after a moment and Ben pulled her back to him. She settled her head on his chest and took a couple of deep breaths. “So if there’s only ours now,” she said after a moment, “can I ask you to do something that you once offered?”

“Anything you need, baby.”

“Pay off the loans for the store,” Rey said. “Please. We are in way more financial trouble than I thought we were.”

“What?” Ben asked, confused.

“I lied to her about a potential problem,” came Finn’s voice. “She found an actual one.”

“But let’s not worry about that at the moment,” Rose said, walking over to them. “Oh, I am so happy for you!”

Finn walked over and then there was a round of congratulations before Finn and Rose said they’d ordered a congratulatory cake from the bakery across the street so they were going to go get it. Once they’d left, Ben turned back to Rey. “What is this actual problem?”

Rey took him over to the counter and pulled the laptop in front of them, pointing out various things to him as she explained that the bank had been charging them a much bigger interest rate than they’d said they were. While they had thought they were about to finish paying off their short-term loan, the truth was that they owned nearly three times as much money as what they had thought the total of the loan would be, and the bank was expecting the money tomorrow.

Ben immediately asked for the name of the bank, and when he realized that it was a bank that Skywalker Incorporated owned, he was incensed. “Where is your loan paperwork?” he asked before he could lose his cool, and Rey walked into the back to get it. 

After a brief search, she came back with it and Ben looked through it, found the agreed-upon interest rate, and then kept reading. The loan was structured so that if it wasn’t paid off after six months the interest rate would quadruple, and he had his phone in his hand before he could even think about it. “Who are you calling?” Rey asked as he searched through his contacts.

“The penthouse,” Ben answered, connecting the call and waiting for the other end to pick up.

“Hello,” came Anakin’s voice, but Ben started talking before his grandfather could continue.

“Are all the loans that Empire Bank offers structured for the interest rate to quadruple if they’re not paid off early?” 

“What?” Anakin said. “Ben?”

“Yes, it’s me,” Ben said, gripping his phone tight. “How many people have we been fucking over?”

“Did you ask her?” Anakin responded, and Ben nearly threw the phone across the room. 

“That’s what you have to say to me? Empire Bank has fucking hidden this clause in the loan contract for the bookstore and they would be fucked if I wasn’t around to take care of this for them, and I want to know how long this has been going on and how you let it happen.”

“Benjamin, calm down,” Anakin ordered. “Take a deep breath. I don’t know anything about what you’re talking about. Read me the passage in the loan.”

Ben turned back to the paperwork and read it out. “It’s a standard loan agreement,” he added. “The only thing that has been changed about this paperwork was the years of the loan and the interest rate that they agreed to. If they had been charged that interest rate, they’d be able to finish paying off the loan tomorrow. Instead, they own more than three times what the initial loan was in interest.”

“Fucking hell,” Anakin muttered. “That could have happened to thousands without me knowing about it. I certainly didn’t. This makes no sense though. Nothing in the reports from those banks ever indicated that they were receiving so much money or property that was defaulted on from a loan situation like this.”

“I agree with that, so that leads me to believe that someone is embezzling this money,” Ben said after a moment. “And I want to fire Snoke immediately because this had to have come from the top on down or else he would have noticed.”

“That is entirely up to you,” Anakin replied. “I will say, however, that if it was me, I would have him fired, investigated by the police, and potentially arrested.”

Ben chuckled at his grandfather’s roundabout way of telling him what to do. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“So, Mr. CEO, what are you going to do about this?” 

Ben tried to push the anger to the side and think about it. “I’m going to put a hold on all loan payments and I’m immediately going to personally write a new standard loan contract for Empire to use,” he said after a moment. “One that still will allow the bank to make money but will not fuck over our customers. And then I am going to find every single one of the people that this loan practice screwed over and get them their money back.”

“I agree that an audit to find out who this affected is in order, but I would think that finding out how this happened first would be in order.”

“No,” Ben said strongly. “Those are the people who were fucked over. They’re the first priority in my eyes.”

“Benjamin,” Anakin said, and he could hear his grandfather’s smile. “That right there is why I wanted you to be the CEO.”

Ben let out a small laugh. “I’m just trying to be like you.”

“Don’t be like me,” Anakin said. “Be like you. Now, will you answer my question before I leave you to deal with this?”

“I’m sorry, Grandpa, I don’t remember the question.”

“Oh, Ben,” Anakin laughed. “It’s raining out, so I want to know if you asked her.”

Ben looked over at Rey, who was looking through the figures on the laptop again. “Yeah, I asked.”

“Then you and Rey are coming over for dinner. And this is not up for discussion. Your grandmother will want to start talking about wedding plans with your fiancée.”

Ben took a deep breath, thought about how Padmé would be gone sooner rather than later, and then smiled. “Yes, we need to get Grandma, Mama, and Mara on wedding planning duties,” he said, and Rey looked over at him with a grin. “I want Rey to be my wife as soon as possible.”

“Then we’ll make sure it happens,” Anakin said, hearing Padmé in the background. “Seven-thirty for dinner. I’ll talk to you then.”

“See you later.” Ben hung up his phone, brushed his wet hair out of his eyes, and looked at Rey, noticing that he’d soaked the front of her clothes. “I am so sorry for getting you all wet. I didn’t even notice.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Rey said, turning to him. “It was worth it.”

“Don’t pay the loan payment tomorrow. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Yes, it sounds like you have a plan.”

“I always have plans.”

“Did this one go smoothly then?”

Ben laughed. “I know they’ll tell you, so I might as well.”

The door to the store opened and Finn and Rose walked over to them, and Ben kissed Rey softly. “I’ll tell you before dinner, I promise.”

“Give me a hint then,” Rey said, tucking a wet lock of hair behind his ear. “Just a little one.”

Ben chuckled. “This is the second ring. And that’s all I’m saying for now.”

Rey just shook her head. “Oh, Ben. I don’t know what to do with you sometimes.”

“Neither do I,” he said, smiling.

“So, um,” Rose said as she opened the cake’s box. “You haven’t figured out how the bank doesn’t foreclose on us tomorrow, did you?”

“Actually, this seems like a bigger problem than just us, and Ben’s going to take care of it,” Rey said. “We’ll tell you about it, but I want some of this cake first.”

“Let me go grab a knife from the breakroom then,” Finn said. “I don’t know how you’re going to take care of this, Ben, but I appreciate it beyond belief.”

“Me too,” Rose said. “We were completely screwed otherwise.”

“Well, you’ll never be screwed like that by a bank that I own ever again,” Ben said. “I promise.”

“Wait, Skywalker owns Empire? I didn’t know that,” Finn said as he walked towards the breakroom. “Rey, you letting Ben into the store that night is the best thing you’ve ever done!”

Rey laughed and looked over at Ben. “Yeah, it is.”

Ben pulled her into a kiss while Rose yelled for Finn to bring plates and napkins too, and he could feel her smile. 

He loved Rey.

Rey loved him.

And in the end, that was all that really mattered.


End file.
